Inside Out Blog

Help Out Your Loved Ones in Hard Times: Whip Up a Quick Dinner

Life brings challenges to everyone, and everyone can use a little help now and then. When you learn that a friend or family member is going through a stressful time, due to illness, a death in the family, or even a new baby, you may often wonder what you can do to help. Oftentimes, one of the best helps you can provide is providing a home cooked meal. Mealtimes can be especially hard when someone is busy, sick, or tired. So, a good dinner can be a life-saver.

But there are pitfalls in providing food without some planning. In fact, it may be overwhelming for your friend to receive yet another lasagna and have to keep track of returning all those dishes to their rightful owners. To make it as helpful as possible for your friend, here is a simple game plan for organizing and delivering dinners.

First, realize that one meal may make a small difference, but a few weeks worth of meals can make all the difference. Your friend in need undoubtedly has other friends who are looking for ways to help as well. Contact them via email or phone to find out who would be willing to volunteer for several meals.

Next, contact your friend and let him or her know that you have arranged for some meals to be delivered. It is not necessary to provide every meal or even one meal every day. It is often better to plan on providing three to four meals a week. Decide with your friend which days would be most helpful and work out a schedule for delivery, including which time of day is best. You'll also need to find out if there are any food allergies or dislikes in the family.

You'll then want to assign dates to each volunteer. If you have just a few people working with you, each one can take one of the days of the week you've decided upon. If you have a full crew ready to help, you can assign each person with just one day.

Each person should be instructed to try to provide a full meal. Suggest an entrée, a salad, some bread, a dessert, and beverages for the adults and the kids. All plates and pans should be disposable to eliminate the need for your friend to return items to their owners. This also helps makes cleanup duty easier for the family. Make sure each person includes reheating instructions.

Let your friend know that deliveries won't be a burden, and instruct your crew to try to make deliveries as short as possible. You can place a basket at the door if the family is particularly swamped or needs more solitary time. Everyone can use this basket to deposit the meal. You should also reassure your friend that no thank you notes are required.

By taking the time to coordinate or participate in this effort, you can provide some needed relief and will know that you are helping as best you can. This is the best gift you can give a friend, especially during a stressful, difficult time.

At Jefferson Arms Apartments in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, nothing is more important to us than your health, happiness, and overall well-being. We offer these informative blogs as a way to enhance your lifestyle beyond the scope of physical features and services we provide in our beautiful and welcoming community.